Improvement in knitting-machines



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y Mm w UNITED STATESJ PATENT -OFFICE.

ISAAQW LAMB, OF DETROIT, MIOHIGAN.

IMPROVE M ENT 'IN KNITTING-MACHINES.

Specitication formingput ofiLettcrs Patent No. 9,934. dated September 15, 1863.

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ISAAC W. LAME, of Detroit, in the county of Wayne and b tate of. Michigan,have invented a new and'useful Improvement in KnittingMachines; and ^I do hereby declare that the, following. is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, referene being had t'o the accompanying drawings, forming part of this speciiication,in which- Figure 1 is a; plan of a knitting machine with my improvements. Fig. 2 is plan of the sliding frames, by the reciprocating movement of which the movements of the needles, the-latch-openers, and the yarn-conductor arc produced. Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical section of the machine. Figs.4 and 5 are plans of olie of the needleoperating cams, showing its parts in two different positions. a plan view of a part of one of 'the needleplates, and portions ofsome of the needles, and what I call the jacks employed in' connection with them.

. Similar letters ot' reference indicate correspondingparts in the several gures.

This invention consists in an improved system of operating two straight rows of needles in a knitting-machine, whereby tubular worksuch as the legs and feet of hosiery-is produced, and provision is made for narrowing or reducing such work.

It also consists n certain arrangements of the mechanism for operating the two rows of needles, to provide for the production of either the tubular work or single ribbed orplain work, as may be desired; also, in a certain construction of the gmoved'needle-plates,'in which the needles slide, and Inode of con'ning the said ncedles therein, whereby facility is afforded for throwing the needles out of and into operation for narrowing and widening the work without taking them out of the niachine; and, further, in certain devices interposed between the several sliding needles of a knitting-niachinc for thepurposes of enabling either iine or coarse'yarn to be lnit equally well in the same machine, and enabling Fig. 6 is' the needles to bearranged closer together and 5 alarger number be used in the same space.

To enable others skilled n the art to make and use my invention, I will proceed to descrbe its constructionand operation.

A A' are two i'lat ncedle-plates-one for each -row of needles-arranged side by side parallel wlth each other, at a short distance apart, and with their upper faces;in which the needle. grooves a a are formed, inclining upward toward each other, but the length of the said plates having a horizontal direction. The said plates are firmly secured to a suitable bed, B, which may be constructedtwscrew onto the'edge of a table, as represented, or supported upon suit-able standards. The

needle-groover: a, a extend right across the plates, and are opeu' at the lower'as Well as at the upper edges of the plates. The needles I) b b' b' represented are. what are termed latoh-needles, though with slight modifioatious of knowuworkiug parts, which would at once suggest themselves topersons skilled n knitting machinery, flexible bearded nee- "dles might be employed in carrying out my. improvements.

A C 0' D E represent a slding frame or carriage, somewhat longer than the needle-plates and their bed B. Thisframe is arranged over 'the needle-plates and titted to. slide horizontally and parallel with the length of the needle-plates in guides 'c c, secured to the said bed, and it carries the two V-shaped cams F -G andF G', for operating the needles. Each of these cams' is'made'in two pieces, as is best shown in Fig. 4, where it will be seen that the piece Eis so constructed'that its edges present a salient angle, f, and the piece Gr that its edges present a corresponding hol- -low angle, g, and the space between the said angles forms a V-shaped passage, e, for the turned-up lower or butt ends, d (l, of the needleshanks, sc that the said enin, in passing the said ends, will first move "the needles inward or upward and afterward draw them outward or downward. Theportions Gr Gr' of the cams are rigidly secured to the side bars, C G', of the sliding frame above mentioned by means of screws 43-i; but the portions F F' are at tached to sliders H H', which are fitted t'o slide transversely to the' bars O C' in guides z,

h, provided on the said bars, for the purpose of enabling the passages ecin the canis to be closed up, as shown in Fig. 5, thereby rendering those portions of the canis inoperative. The lower or outer edges of the portions Gr G of the caius are-sloped or rounded ott", as

'shown atjj, and when the passage e iu either cam is closed up the outer edge of its piece F or F' forms an unbroken straight continuation of the edge of the corresponding piece, G or G', as shown in Fig. 5, and the cam F or F will pass the projections d d on the needles without touching them. The bars C C' of the, sliding frame have also rigidly attached to them the two latch-openers k 7c', one for each row of needles. The sliding frame is furnishedzwith a. handle, I, by which to impart to it by hand a longitudinal reciprocating motion ofasutticient length to enable the cams to operate thc whole set of needles, or it may have such a motion given to it by other means.

J J' are two straight bars of little more than half the length ot' the side bars, 0 (J arranged over the latter bars, and their ca ms E Gr 1 G. parallel with the latter bars. These bars J J' are attached rigidly to a transverse connecting-piece, K, which is situated outside of the end piece E of the sliding frame. This piece K has attached to it two guide-plus, ll, parallel with the bars J J', and these pins are fitted 10 work in holes in the piece E to steady the said piece K and bars J J'and keep them ln proper relation to the sliding frame. The said bars J J' are also attached to thc bars 0 G by mea-ns of screu's m m, screwing into the latter bars, bntpassing through slots az n in .l' J', to permit a certain amount of movement of the sliding frameindependently of the bars J J', the object ot' such movement beint, to shift, the slides H H' and the attached portions 1 l of the cams, and so open and close the passages e e of the caius. H

The shit'ting ot' the sidesiseffectedbymeaus of pinsp p, which are rigidly secured in the slides and received iu obliquely-arranged slots q q, provided in the bars, the inovementof the sliding frame, independently of J J', carrying the said pins along the said slots, and so pro ducing thc movenwnt ot' the slides transverse to the bars.

Thebars J J' are. intended to move back and forth with thc sliding frame, with the exception that they are arrested at a suiiicient dis tance from the end of the movement of the said frame in either direction to provide for the aforesaid independent movement for opening and closing the passages in the cams.

"The arrest of the bars J J' is produced by length of the said screw between the inside of its head and the inside of the piece K exceeds the outside length of the sliding frame hy the desired length of the independent morement ot' the frame.

ln moving the sliding frame the bars JJ' are moved with the suid frame by frictio'n until the stop-nuts M M come' n contact with the end of the bed-plate, When the said bars are arrested, and the sliding frame moves on until the end D comes into contact with the head L* of the screw L, or'until the end E comes into contact with the piece K. The oblique slots q q are so arranged, as shown iu Figs. 1 and 2, that as the sliding frame-com pletes its movement to the right the slide H is drawn in and the passage e of the cam F Gr closed up, and at the same time the slide H is pushed out and the passage e in the cam F' G' opened, and that as the frame completes its movement to the left the action on the slides is reversed, and the cam F' Gr is closed and F Gr opened. By this action upon the cams only one cam is allowed to operate upon the needles at a time, the one whose passage e is closed up being inoperative, and its lower edge passing over the projections d d ou the needle-shanks without producing any effect upon them, and as each cam is alteruately operative the two rows of needles are operated alternately-one row while the sliding frame is moving in onc direction and the other while it is moving in the opposite direction; and hence with a suitable arrangement of the yarn-conductor N to carry the yaru over one row of needles while passing one way and over the otherrowin passing the other way, the work performed on the two rows is united at the ends of the rows, and is equivalent to Work performed on a cireular machine.

The yarn-conductor Nis attached to a horizontal sliding bar, N which is arranged parallel with the length of the needle-plates and sliding frame, and directly over the space between thctwo needle-plates, in suitable guides, u u, and derives the necessary movement to enable it to carry the yarn first over one and then over the other row of needles as they are respectively and alternately advanced by the action of the cams from tappets r r, carried by the sliding frame, the said ta ppets acting upon a projection, M, on onc side of the bar N By this system of operating alternately on two rows 'of needles great facility is affor-ded for narrowing and widening tubular work. Tc narrow it, it is only necessary t-o take out or withdraw fronrthe action of the canis one or more needles from either plate at each or either end of either oI needles, transferring the loop dr loops from nuch needles to the adjacent needle or needles in the same, row. To widen, it is only necessary to insert one or morc needles at either or each en'l of either or each row. The length ot' movement ot' the sliding frame and cams should be adjusted according to the number ot needles in operation, and this is done loy' adjusting the stops M M' on the screw L.

When it is desired to knit upon one row of needles only, iu making the heel of a stocking. the connecting'piece K, to which the bars J J' are secured, is brought close up te the corresponding end K of the sliding fra ne, as

each row of operating them, but that thc cam 1 G' has its passageopen, so, thatit will operate the n edlcs b' b' and produce a. course of stitches thereon iu evcnvmovementofthe slidingframe iu either directin. 1

When it is desired to produceribbed work", the bar J' and connecting-piece K are still kept secured to the sliding Tranie, as above described but the bar J is liberated from K by' unscrcwing the'screw Q, which attaches it thereto, and shifting it to such a position (indicated by'rcd outline in Fig. 2) tha by the action of its slot q on the corresponding pnp it forces ont the portion F of the cam F Gr and renders the said cam operative ln this position the ba'r J is secured by. the screw Q, and as the two cams are now iu operative conditions every Stroke ot' the sliding frame produces the operation of both rows of needles, and the needles ot' each row, owing to the relative arrangement ot' the grooves a a n the two needle-plates, pass between and across those of the opposite row, and thus produce a Hat, single piece of ribbed knitting.

To provide for the above adjustment of the .bar J the said bar isslotted where the screw Q passes through it.

To provide for easily throwing any number of ncedles out of operation for narrowing and bringing them back nto operation for widening, without ever removin' g them entirely from the machine, the grooves a a in the needleplates A A' "are made entirely across the plates and open at their outer or lower as well as their inner or upper ends. To allow them to be drawn so far back that the cams will not' touch the projections d d on their shanks, but to prevent them from slippingout altogether, as they would otherwise be very liable to do when liberated from the work, the upper surface of each needle-platehas cut in it across the grooves-a a a longitndinal groove, v, for the reception of one of two rods or Wires, s s, Fig.

I 3, which are inserted right through the bed B and needle-plates from end to end of the Inachine, and these rods or Wires prevent the pas. Sage ot'the hooks of the needles, but allow thc' butt-ends of the needles to be drawn some distance out ot' the grooves a a. u

^ The devices interposed between theseveral' needles for the purpose ot' enabling coarser and neryarns to be used iu the san e'machine,

- and enabling the needles to be arranged closer and which may be used in machines n which only a single row or series of needles is used, are eachimade with two eyes, 7 and 8, to tit two horizontal fixed rods, wand ac, which ex: tend the whole length of the needle-plates an d are secured on the ends of 'th'e bed-plate B. One

; of these rodsfis arranged nearly close against v the upper or iu ner edge of thc needle-plate and thc other under the needle-plate, the said rods serving to support the jacks, which are arranged opposite to the spaces betwe n the needlegroovcs'a a ot' the. needle-plates, and which project upward and forward above and intront of the edges of the plates. Thejacks thus supported are free to yield slightly in a lateral direction. The use ot' the said jacks enables the width or depth of the needlepl'ates to be reduced at the front or inner ed ge, so thatthe hooks of the ncedles need not be drawn entirely within the' grooves a a, and obviates the necessity for drawing the loops into the said grooves, the said jacks serving to support the loops at the sides ofthe needles in the same manner n which they are commonly supported by the ends of the rid ges be: tween the needle-groovesdurng thed-raving 'ot'the loops, and the loops simply being drawn by the needles between the Jacks, instead of nto the needle-grooves, and as there is much more room between the jacks than in the needle-grooves coarser yarn maybe used with the 'needles at a given distance apart, and a larger number of needles may be used n the machine, thereby obvating thenecessity ot'makng the machine any wider than the finished work is to be. These "Jacks work equally well with fine yarn, and therefore allow either ne or coarse yarn to be used n the same machine, and in case of any unevenrness or thic er places or knots in the yarn,

they, being free to vibrate 1aterally,'permt the passage of the thicker'or knotty portions.

The jacks, instead of being made of Wires, may be punched out of plate metal of the same form. They may be used in all kinds of knitting-machines in which slidin g necdles are used.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The employment, n' a knitting machine, 'of two straight rows of needies operating altern ate y in such amanner that the y arncon' ductor, passing down and back, will carry the yarn over onc row of needles while, passin gin Que direction, and over the other row while passing in the opposite direction, substantially as herein described, thereby unitin g .the work produced bythe two rows of needles at each end of the rows, and making, tubular knittngin aistraight knitting-machine. v

' 2, The employment, "for giving motion tothe two straight alternately-operating rowsvof needlcs to-produce tubularhnitting, of tw'o cams, F. Gr and -F' G a portion of each of whichis shiftedat every stroke of 'the machine to produce the alternation in the operation of 'the two "rows of needles, substantially asherein specified. v a

3. (lombinng the movable'portions pfthe' canis with the slidin g frame or carriage which carries them" by means ot} slides H,-longitudi-. nallymoning parallel bars J- J oblique slots q q, and 'pins pp,.the whole operatings'ubstantially as hereasettorth;

4. Combiningr the longtudinal parallel bars J J' with the sliding frame or carriage Which carries tbe cams by means of a screw, L. secured to the transverse connection K ot' tlie said bars, and furnished with a head, L*, and adjustable stopnuts M M', operating substantially as. and for the purpose herein specified.

.5. Prox 'idng for the permanent attachment of the parallel bars J J' to Elie sliding fmm'e or carriage, either in position to'iix both needle-canis in an operative position to operate. both rows of needles for the production of rbbed Work, 01' in a position to-secure one Cain in an operative condition and the other in an inoperative conditionfor the kn'itting'on bula one row fneedles, e s in knitting the heels of stockings.

(i. In comliimition with the needle-plates, having" their several neeille-grooves open from the inner to the outer edges of the needleplntes, tli'e rods s 8', inserted through grooves v v in 'tlre needle-plates, intersectin g the needlegi'ooves;snbstntially as set fortln'for the purpose of preventing the needles from slipping ont. v

7. Tile yielding jacks t t, applied in combination with the needle-plates and needles, substantially as and for the purpose herein specified.

ISAAC VV. LAME.

'itnesses:

G-Eo. A. STARKWEATHER, R. G. HALL. 

